Madhya Maheshwar temple is located in the Mansuna village of Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India. The middle (madhya) or belly part or navel (nabhi) of the bull, considered a divine form of Shiva, is worshipped at this temple, believed to be built by the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

There is also an old temple known as Vriddh-Madmaheshwar, located on the ridge which looks straight up at the commanding Chaukhamba peaks.

History & Legend

The legend of Madhyamaheswar is an integral part of the legend of Panch Kedar, which is a captivating narration of the efforts of Pandavas to atone for the sins of their fratricide (gotra- hatya) act of killing their cousins, the Kauravas, and Brahmanahatya (killing of Brahmins – the priest class), during the epic Mahabharata war. On advice from sages and their trusted benefactor god Krishna they sought Lord Shiva to pardon them and bless them to attain salvation.

Since Shiva was annoyed with them for their conduct during the Kurukshetra war, he tried to avoid them by assuming the animal form of a bull or Nandi and hid himself in the Himalayan Garhwal region. But the determined Pandavas, after sighting Shiva in the form of the bull grazing in the hills of Guptakashi, tried to forcibly hold the bull by its tail and hind legs. But the bull disappeared into the ground to reappear later in his original self of Lord Shiva at five places; in the form of a hump at Kedarnath, in the shape of bahu (arms) at Tungnath, with his face at Rudranath, his nabhi (navel) and stomach at Madhyamaheswar and his hair (locks) called jata at Kalpeshwar.

Pandavas, pleased with the revelation of Lord Shiva at five places in different forms, built temples at these five places, worshipped him and attained salvation with blessings of Shiva.

Inside Madmaheshwar Temple

A navel-shaped Shiva-lingam made of black stone, is enshrined in the sanctum. There are two other smaller shrines, one for Shiva’s consort Parvati and the other dedicated to the Ardhanarishwara, a half-Shiva half-Parvati image. To the right of the main temple there is a small temple where the image of Saraswati made of marble is installed in the sanctum.

Pooja in Madmaheshwar Temple

Priests at this temple are from South India and at this particular temple they are called Jangamas of the Lingayat cast who hail from Mysore in Karnataka state.

Opening and Closing Timings

The worship at this temple starts from a specified time period from the beginning of the summer months after the winter and lasts till October/November from start of the winter season when the temple precincts are not accessible due to snow conditions.

During the winter period, the symbolic idol of the god is shifted with religious formalities to Ukhimath for continued worship.